Thomas Heatherwick's design for a Pavilion of Ideas for the Shanghai Expo in 2010 floats without apparent visible support. Each spine is tipped with a tiny coloured light source, and those spines can ripple in the breeze: well, that's the idea, anyway. Heatherwick's concepts are always ambitious, but what is there to lose? This expo is expected to bring in the largest number of visitors in the history of world fairs, and we need to be bold, according to Sir Andrew Cahn, chief executive of UK Trade & Investment (UKTI). "We are currently living in the midst of a technology revolution, and we need to maintain our edge - whether it's through R&D or architectural icons."

Leveraging the British brand presence in Shanghai is part of a five-year UKTI marketing strategy announced last year to bolster the UK's creative reputation. China is an obvious candidate for British expertise, not least because British consulting engineers helped create the iconic Birds Nest Stadium at Beijing.

And it does look as if China is receptive, despite the world downturn. It's said that recession is the time to innovate and invest, rather than retrench. British designer Paul Priestman has just won a project to design the world's biggest ever train, for the Chinese Sifang Locomotive Company. He hopes to create the definitive symbol of modern China, just as the bullet train seen next to Mount Fuji has come to define Japan. Official UK trade missions have been useful to his consultancy, Priestman Goode, he says, but landing business is not just a case of downing some drinks at a posh reception party. "How do you do it? By carefully cultivating contacts you meet and by not dropping the ball," he says.

Architect Nick Thompson agrees. A trade mission 10 years ago led to his specialist firm Integer being asked to spread the word in Hong Kong about green building technologies. The resulting exhibition building, modelled on the traditional Chinese roundhouse, "was a sensation: we had thousands and thousands through the pavilion: a jamboree." Meanwhile the British embassy acted as a business base, a place to hold workshops and a call centre. "Sometimes it takes a little while to get your match to light. But if the right spark is struck, the government is very effective," says Thompson. His building was eventually re-sold and resurrected in China as a permanent environmental centre.

"There are certainly big challenges," says Cahn. "The UK is respected for its strong creative heritage, but is perhaps perceived less as a dynamic and innovative nation. We must work hard to update this perception."

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Lure of the east

This article was published on
the Guardian website
at 19.01 EST on Sunday 22 February 2009.
It was last modified at 07.54 EST on Monday 24 February 2014.
It was first published at 07.27 EST on Monday 23 February 2009.